ᰉᰧᰶ

Lepcha

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ni (“to be”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɲi/

Verb

ᰉᰧᰶ (nyí) (inflected stem ᰉᰧᰮᰶ)

  1. to be, exist
  2. to have, possess

Usage notes

This is the existential verb for "be" in Lepcha, contrasting with the identifier copula ᰃᰨ (go). It is used in the following contexts:

  • To form predicates with adjectives.
  • To indicate that something exists.
  • To indicate the location of something.

To indicate possession, -ᰠᰦ (-sá) is suffixed to the possessor while ᰉᰧᰶ (nyí) serves as the verb.

Further reading

  • Plaisier, Heleen (2007), A grammar of Lepcha (Tibetan studies library: Languages of the greater Himalayan region)‎[1], volume 5, BRILL, →ISBN, pages 110-112
  • Tamsang, Aathing K. P. (2009), The Lepcha-English Encyclopaedic Dictionary, second edition, page 327
  • Mainwaring, George Byres (1898), “nyí”, in Albert Grünwedel, editor, Dictionary of the Lepcha-language‎[2], Berlin: Unger Brothers, pages 105-106
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